- For other uses, see Dragon Priest Staff.
The Dragon Priest Staff is a staff that appears in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Acquisition[]
The Dragon Priest Staff is found during the main quest "The World-Eater's Eyrie" on the Dragon Priest Nahkriin. It is used to open the portal into Sovngarde where the Dragonborn can get help and defeat Alduin.
The staff was probably not meant to be obtainable as the portal to Sovngarde can only be opened when the staff is placed in a receptacle "switch," which is located on a short raised platform just in front of the portal. In fact, this is where the staff is first spawned at the start of the quest; only when Nahkriin is approached does he pull the staff out to battle the player (the staff cannot otherwise be interacted with), which thereby causes the open portal to close. In the usual course of things the player must defeat and loot Nahkriin to obtain the staff, then place the staff back in the receptacle in order to open the portal again. Once the staff is returned to the receptacle, it cannot be retrieved any more.
However, because the portal takes some time to close when Nahkriin first pulls the staff out, it is possible - if the player is quick enough - to still make it into Sovngarde while retaining the staff instead of placing it back in the receptacle. The following steps outline how to achieve this:
- One method is to run up to Nahkriin, and attack him hard and fast enough to the point that the next hit will kill him - before he picks up the staff. This can easily be done with the use of Whirlwind Sprint to close the distance, after which you should use your strongest weapon/spell and inflict as much damage as possible, but stop short of killing him.
- Alternatively, you can utilize a strong bow from a distance with damage augmented by a sneak attack or the Deadly Aim perk to get him down to the same level of very low health (again, stop just before killing him), and then close the distance using Whirlwind Sprint.
- Another option is to close distance and attack him simultaneously while using the Slow Time shout.
- Whichever method is chosen, make sure that he does not pick up the staff before you are ready to land the killing blow. Once you are ready and the distance to him has been closed, allow him to pick the staff up. Now quickly finish him off with one last attack, loot his corpse for the staff, and then run or jump into the portal before it closes fully.
It is recommended you save before you climb the steps to where he is, just in case you are unable to pull it off the first time.
If done correctly, you should be just next to the portal when looting Nahkriin's corpse and the entrance to Sovngarde should still be partially open.
The staff can also be obtained on the PC by entering the console command player.additem 0004de5b 1.
Trivia[]
- The staff has the same effect as the Staff of the Storm Wall and Hevnoraak's Staff.
- Although this staff shares its name with Dragon Priest Staff (Wall of Fire), this weapon is unique in appearance. Its uniqueness comes from the fact that its color is cast iron black, instead of the usual bronze that Destruction staves usually come in. It also has a different design for the dragon motif at the head end of the staff.